redeemerfandomcom-20200216-history
8/30/2015: Sight for the Blind
Elisha Traps Blinded Arameans 8 Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, “I will set up my camp in such and such a place.” 9 The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: “Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there.” 10 So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places. 11 This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, “Tell me! Which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?” 12 “None of us, my lord the king,” said one of his officers, “but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom.” 13 “Go, find out where he is,” the king ordered, “so I can send men and capture him.” The report came back: “He is in Dothan.” 14 Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city. 15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. 16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the Lord, “Strike this army with blindness.” So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked. 19 Elisha told them, “This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for.” And he led them to Samaria. 20 After they entered the city, Elisha said, “Lord, open the eyes of these men so they can see.” Then the Lord opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria. 21 When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, “Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?” 22 “Do not kill them,” he answered. “Would you kill those you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master.” 23 So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel’s territory. -- 1. Spiritual sight is a gift Spiritual sight is different from knowledge It's one thing to know something but when you see it changes you 2. The conditions of spiritual blindness Blindness also happens in Sodom, and to Paul Blindness to three things: The depth of your sin - you understand sin as breaking the rules and you only regret it when it messes up your life. When you see, you see it as a more pervasive attitude of heart - "I do bad things, but even the good things I do for bad reasons." You start to regret sin because it hurts God. The beauty of grace - the king is enthusiastic about killing the enemy, but instead they get a feast. A sign you see is that you can't get enough of the gospel of grace - salvation by faith. Example: minister named Frank studying at seminary, reading Martin Luther, and never seeing the gospel. The blindness itself - for example, the most self-centered people don't see they're self-centered. How can the condition be healed 3 How's Stages - Paul writes to say even saved Christians grow in their sight Suffering - also in Dothan, Joseph was sold into slavery. Joseph's years of suffering led to his family's salvation, Egypt's and his own. Prayer 1 Why Elisha's feast doesn't seem fair. Jesus was also surrounded by legions of angels when he was taken, but he went into darkness. Even the more mature Christians have areas of spiritual blindness. Only when we admit our blindness can we be helped to see.